A Man's Life is not his own
By Roger Carswell
Above my study desk, I have a small copy of Rembrandt's wonderful picture of old Jeremiah weeping over Jerusalem (pictured right). His beloved city burning is in the distance. Of all the Bible books, I believe Jeremiah speaks to our day and age. He was called to the uncomfortable task of being a prophet, after being brought up in the rather more conformist role of a priestly family. Jeremiah prophesied to God's people for forty years, as he saw them rushing headlong to defeat and utter destruction. Five kings heard him speak; though only the first listened to him. He had to confront the sins of the people, the priests, the prophets, and the princes. And oh, how he suffered for his faithfulness.
Jeremiah lived in days like our own. Then, as now, the people who need to hear and heed the Word of God are not only lost, but also God's own people. They were guilty of two sins - forsaking the Lord, the spring of living water, and of digging their own cisterns which were broken and could not hold water (2 v 13). Jeremiah used preaching, written letters and books, and visual aids to get across his urgent mesage. No doubt if he had lived today he would have used the radio too! Sadly, he was ignored, and all that he had warned about happened.
Interspersed in Jeremiah's book are little gems that give us insights into this man of great spiritual passion. For example, chapter 10 v 23 & 24 is a prayer of his:
"I know, O Lord, that a man's l ife is not his own; it is not for man to diret his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice - not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing."
Jeremiah knew that though he was exposing the sins of the people, his own heart needed God's grace to correct it. God never shows us more of other people's sins than our own. The greatest need is not only for others to repent, but for us too, that we might be clean, pure, holy channels of God.
Jeremiah knew that his life was not his own. As we read in ch. 1 v 5, the Creator God had formed him in his mother's womb, the Sanctifying God had set him apart before his birth, and the Commissioning God had appointed him as a prophet to the nations. What was true of Jeremiah is true of every believer today. "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body" writes Paul to the Corinthian Christians.
As Christians we each know that "a man's life is not his own". God "knit me together in my mother's womb", and I am "fearfully and wonderfully made". No-one is an 'accident' in God's plan. More than that, I am blood bought. Christ's preciousl blood was spilt at Calvary for my sin. God chose me, in Him, before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. The Lord has even a place in life assigned to me, to which God has called me. I am not my own. God gave me the gifts and abilities (and lack of them!) which are mine to use for His glory.
"A man's life is not his own." If that is true, it will affect how I spend my time and money; it will prioritise my commitments so the Lord has the best of each day and week; it will spur me on to be submissive ot the Lord's way of doing things in my marriage, home and work; it will be the guiding principle of what I watch, listen to and how I use my hlidays. That I am not my own will be the source of cheer, when the path the Lord has for me is uphill and tough.
As well, knowing that my life is God's,. I will be encouraged to speak His word to those I meet each day, even if they sometimes appear not to want to hear. Jeremiah's faithfulness in doing what God had called him to (1 v 17-19) was because he was keenly aware that he was the Lord's. He was God's child, God's prophet and God's ambassador to a disobedient people. To have kept silent would not only have been disobedience but a denial of the truth which was so deeply etched into Jeremiah's heart, that a "man's life is not his own".
The Psalmist in 42 v 8 thought of a new name for God. He called Him "the God of my life". That description never occurs elsewhere in the Bible. Of course, it challenges me: "Is God really the God of my life?". It also comforts me: whatever my circumstances, God knows. He never has an emergency Cabinet meeting in heaven to sort out what to do next! He takes personal responsibility for all that happens to me. My life is in His hands, and like Jeremiah, I am happy to leave it there. I may not experience all that weeping Jeremiah went through, but like him I know "a man's life is not his own".
It's worth remembering next time we are tempted to throw in the towel.